In Ghana a social entrepreneur named Bernice Dapaah launched Ghana Bamboo Bikes Initiative as a way to create local jobs and promote low-carbon transport. More than half of its employees are women and for every bike sold, one is given to a schoolchild to help that child save time getting to school. Madam Bernice Dapaah calls bamboo “a miracle plant”, because it grows so fast and absorbs carbon. But it can also work wonders for children’s education and women’s employment – as she’s discovered.

Cycling is well known as being a low-carbon form of transport – but Dapaah is making it even more sustainable. For every bamboo plant that is cut down to make a bike, Ghana Bamboo Bikes Initiative plants 10 more. Bamboo is stronger than steel in terms of tensile strength and is a cheaper, more sustainable material. It also takes less electricity to make a bamboo bike than a metal one. And the frame is completely recyclable. The reason she uses bamboo to manufacture bicycles is because it’s found abundantly in Ghana and this is not a material she imports. It’s a new innovation in Ghana. Besides encouraging Ghanaians to swap vehicles for affordable bikes, the Ghana Bamboo Bikes Initiative is helping students save time on walking to school so they have more time to learn.

To date, they have sold more than 3,000 road, mountain and children’s bikes – and Dapaah says they plan to donate 10,000 bikes to schoolchildren over five years.

The enterprise is also providing local jobs. It teaches young people to build bikes, particularly women and those in rural communities, where jobs can be scarce. More than 50% of people they have trained are women.

Dapaah says they want to boost the number of people they employ to 250 over the next five years and they are looking to partner with NGOs to build a childcare facility so mothers can continue to work. By promoting a cycling culture in Ghana, Dapaah says they’re also committed to reducing emissions in the transport sector and contributing to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.